Gone GIR
by trashboat2k16
Summary: Zim's friendship with GIR puzzles Dib. Why would an alien invader keep a henchman that can't do anything right? Dib and a reluctant Gaz go to Zim's house to ask him about it, and end up in the middle of an intergalactic rescue mission that will expose Zim's inner emotions and feelings about a certain broken S.I.R unit. (Ship-free)
1. Questions

It was such a strange thing. But pretty much everything in Dib's life was strange since Zim landed on earth. Dib loved strange things; they usually were connected to the paranormal, his absolute passion. But this was a different kind of oddity: A bit more psychological than paranormal. It was Zim's relationship with his little robotic sidekick, GIR.

GIR was... a few screws short of cyborg. Almost everything he did was unexplained and random, and he spoke as if he was communicating with beings from a different _universe._ Zim, being an alien, was a lot of things to Dib, obvious things. Dangerous, incompetent, selfish... but there were not-so-obvious traits there too. One of those things being patient; only with GIR. Dib wouldn't put it past Zim to have gotten rid of GIR a long time ago, as GIR normally lacked the brains to aid Zim in his plans for world domination. But for some odd reason, Zim never seemed to hold many things against the little guy. In the heat of the moment, sure, Zim would explode at him for failing to do seemingly simple tasks. But GIR was always there for every mission, with no grudges held from his master. Dib expected Zim to be completely self-centered all the time, it seemed like it was in his nature. He expected Zim to hate GIR along with the rest of the human race, and destroy him if he failed one too many times.

But Dib's fascination with Zim let him walk in on all kinds of things going on in that house of his; Zim repairing GIR when even the slightest thing was out of place, movie nights, "donut parties", really domestic things that Dib wouldn't believe a hostile alien invader would waste his time with. It was almost... sweet.

Dib wasn't sure how this thought came to him, but now he was stuck on it. Did Irkens feel companionship like humans did? He remembered Zim mentioning how Irken children were "made"; did Irkens not feel the same maternal bonds as earthlings do? Dib stared at the wall, mind racing.

"You're doing it again," Dib's sister Gaz hissed, eyes locked on her game screen. The siblings were sitting together on their couch, Gaz playing video games while Dib vanished into his crazy ideas. The norm. Sometimes Dib got a little _too_ deep in his thoughts, which would ultimately result in him forgetting to perform normal functions, like blinking, or occasionally, breathing. The amount of CPR that was done on Dib weekly would knock a doctor out.

Dib blinked hard, and he felt his eyes soften again, but he never lost his train of thought. He turned to his sister and asked, "Hey Gaz, why do you think Zim keeps GIR around? He doesn't ever do what Zim wants, and he's pretty stupid."

Gaz snorted. "So are you, Dibstick," she said, never looking up. Dib slightly cringed at the old nickname but followed up his question.

"I mean, Zim's the kind of guy that you'd think wouldn't tolerate that sort of stuff, and would've fired GIR by now... don't you think?"

Gaz shrugged. "I dunno. Loneliness would be my guess." Dib looked her way, mumbling out a "Huh?"

Gaz sighed hard, but explained, "You hate him. I hate him. Not a lot of people at school like him either, they just hate you more. That dog thing is the only person that cares about him at all."

Dib contemplated this, seeing how it made a lot of sense. "It also works both ways-" she continued. "The robot's dumb. Really dumb. I doubt that he'd still be functioning if Zim didn't look after him. He would have been in a scrap heap by now: he's useless."

Dib nodded. GIR would never be used by any sane person in a professional field. He'd mess everything up.

"So Zim only keeps him around to talk to him?" Dib wondered aloud. Gaz nodded.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Zim is in a constant need of attention, and GIR supplies that. GIR needs someone to make sure he doesn't kill himself every five seconds, and Zim supplies that. They need each other."

With that, Dib got up from the couch and walked over to the door. "What, you doing to ask him yourself?" Gaz asked sharply. Dib shrugged.

"Sort of."

He left the house and made his way to Zim's. He wanted to catch another calm moment between the two to support his theory of Irken relationships. He wasn't too frightened. He expected Zim to yell at him once he entered, but that was almost routine by now.

 _Come to think of it,_ Dib thought to himself, _that's the_ _only_ _reason Zim's ever upset when I come over._

Whenever Dib witnessed a tranquil (or otherwise) scene, Zim's rage only came from the fact that Dib was there uninvited. He never tried to deny anything that Dib saw. Not once did he show any embarrassment for being caught in the middle of a baking challenge with GIR, or watching any kind of TV show with him instead of working in the lab. His only actual concern was that Dib "DARED TO ENTER THE HOUSE OF THE GREAT ZIM AND EXPECTED TO RETURN IN ONE PIECE."

Dib quickly crept over to the house and peered inside the window. To his disappointment, there was no one to be found. They must be in the lab. Dib repressed a shudder; going down into the heart of his lair was a much different thing than looking into it from afar. He wasn't _scared_ ,only cautious. His drive to expose Zim was trying to push him inside the home, but common sense stopped him. If he was going to go in there, he wasn't going alone.

A short run home proved that Gaz was still present, sitting on the couch, game in hand. Dib cleared his throat.

"What," she snarled, still not breaking her focus.

"Gaz, will you... goinsideZim'shousewithme?" Dib asked tentatively, all in one breath.

"You expect me to stop what I'm doing just so you can spy on that dumb kid some more? No way," Gaz said dismissively.

"Please, Gaz?" Dib begged, the thought of entering Zim's cave unguarded evaporating his dignity. "All I'm gonna do is ask him a few things, and then we can go home! Swear it!"

Gaz paused her game, finally looking at Dib now. Her face grew mischievous. "I'll go if you buy the new game I want," she bargained.

"What? Gaz, come on-" Dib stopped once he saw Gaz's face, stone cold serious. He sighed. "Fine... but we go to Zim's place first."

Before long, both kids were back in Zim's front yard. Dib quietly snuck his way back to the window, like the world's worst ninja. Gaz simply stomped up to the front door and knocked, wanting this dumb trip to be over with.

Dib silently panicked and waved his arms, trying to stop Gaz from making their presence known.

Too late.

Just as Dib ran to his sister's side the door flung open wide, and there stood Zim. He menacingly glowered at the siblings before shouting, "FLITHY HUMAN WORMS! What do you think you're doing, BARGING in on my abode and striking it with your... LIMBS?"

Gaz stared him down, unfazed. "It's called knocking, stupid. And it's considered polite to knock before entering something."

Zim only furrowed his brow. "Is that all? You matching over to my lair to teach me about MANNERISMS? Be gone with you!" Zim swung the door closed, but Dib grabbed the edge of it and shouted, "WAIT! I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!"

Zim only sneered. "AS IF I'D SHARE MY VAST KNOWLEDGE WITH THE LIKES OF YOU, FLESH PIG. NOW _BE GONE_!" Zim tried once again to slam the door, and Dib struggled to force it open again. Gaz just watched, completely disinterested. "IT'S ABOUT YOUR ROBOT THING!" Dib shouted, now pushing all of his weight onto the door. Zim didn't say anything, and suddenly pulled the door open again, sending Dib sprawling onto the ground. Zim only pushed him further from the entrance. "Eh? GIR?" Zim asked, narrowing his giant eyes at Dib. "Why do you care about the state of my robotic servant?" He guard wasn't at all lowered, but he did seem interested.

"I just wanted to see... what he's been up to," Dib lied, suddenly feeling embarrassed by his question. No doubt Zim would only laugh in his face and slam the door shut again if he just blurted out what was in his mind. Zim scoffed. "GIR's never really _up to_ anything," he said simply. "He just does what he wants. You can't really control him, Irk knows I've tried..." The last sentence seemed to be more to himself than to the siblings, but Dib pounced on it. "So you just let him do his own thing most of the time?" He inquired. Zim suddenly reverted back into anger, annoyed that he had revealed more information than he'd like to. "Are you suggesting that I have no authority over my own machine?" He snapped, and Dib didn't say anything.

"GIR's loyalty to me is unquestionable, and that brings respect as well. Whether or not he listens fully to commands, he still sees me as his master." Zim rambled. Dib listened carefully to his word choice. _Loyalty, commands, master._ It didn't sound as warm as Dib had believed it to be.

Gaz was at her wits end with this whole conversation, and let her eyes wander around the yard lazily. She could slowly feeling something shifting around her, and she half-glanced over to Zim, who was watching Dib think about what to say next with complete disinterest. Gaz felt another shift, and noticed how Zim's eyes slowly lightened with a glint that she didn't like. Dib didn't notice.

Another rattle from down below. Zim's face had the ghost of a smile that was anything but friendly. Dib's distracted mind didn't pick up in time.

The stairs that Dib and Gaz stood on suddenly vanished. With a surprised yelp, they fell into a dark pit below. A frantic look upwards showed Zim glowering down at them, an evil grin spread wide on his face.

Then, darkness.


	2. Transmission

The pair awoke a few minutes later to discover that they indeed made it inside of Zim's lair, just not in the way they were expecting. They were stuck inside of individual glass cylinders, with no clear way out. Zim stood before them, grinning wide.

"Foolish, foolish humans..." he taunted, pacing slowly around their confinements. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out about your little scheme?"

Dib, still dazed, shook his head in extreme confusion. "I... what? What 'scheme'? I haven't done anything!" Next to him, Gaz was quivering with rage. "I'm about to do something..." she hissed slowly. "I'm going to kill both of you... SO BAD..."

Zim cut her off by shouting, "DO NOT PLAY DUMB WITH ME, STINKBRAIN! I knew it was you!" He chuckled a little. "But I never expected you to waltz up to my door and prove it! Truly your impatience has costed you greatly now, Dib!"

If Dib was confused before, Irk only knows he was even more befuddled now. "I really don't have any idea what you're talking about, Zim," he said again. "What was me? What did I do?"

Zim huffed. "GIR! You stole him from me!"

Dib's eyes went wide. "I- he's not here?" He glanced around the dark lair.

"Do you see him?" Zim's voice oozed with sarcasm.

Zim cleared his throat. "Yes, it seems that my delayed reaction pushed you over, Dib! I simply take a while to accuse you, and you march over and make it obvious! Yes, yes... the same time my henchman disappears, you decide to come to my home and ask me about 'how he's doing'? What a coincidence, eh?" His evil laughter filled the room, but Dib simply ignored his taunts.

"Wait, you LOST him? For how long?"

Zim frowned. "I didn't _lose_ him, worm baby! I'm just... not entirely sure where he resides at this point in time." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Uh, that's what losing _is!_ " Dib retorted. Zim simply mumbled under his breath.

"Enough games! You will return GIR to me immediately, or suffer the consequences!" Zim yelled.

"Zim, I'm being honest. I have no idea where your robot-thing is." Dib attempted to reason with the alien. Zim was having none of it.

"LIES! If you don't have him, where else could he possibly be?"

Dib thought for a moment. "I don't know how he thinks! Did you get in a fight recently?"

Zim's face grew to one of surprise. "Are you suggesting that my robot ran away? He barely has the ability to blink, let alone hold a grudge!"

"Okay, okay!" Dib said. He turned to his sister. "What do you think, Gaz?"

"I'm _thinking_ that if we don't get out of here in the next thirty seconds, I'm REALLY going to blow a fuse!" She threatened through clenched teeth.

" _Blow a fuse_..." Zim mused. Suddenly he jumped. "WAIT! I'M RECALLING SOMETHING!" He turned to face Dib once more.

"GIR and I went off-planet about three days ago. We needed to acquire a certain piece of machinery from a place called 'Sparkplug'. In our attempts to rob a building of this specific part, we accidentally made the entire planet blackout. Everything there is run on electricity, so there were many casualties."

Dib narrowed his eyes. "What does that have to do with GIR being missing?" He asked.

Zim continued: "After attempting to make a hasty exit, we were ambushed by this group of criminal capturers. They tried to get their slimy hands on us, oh, but I really blasted them good!"

Gaz groaned impatiently. "GET TO THE POINT!"

Zim growled. "I remember seeing GIR's disguise in my ship once we docked back on earth, so I thought nothing of it. But upon further inspection, I saw that his costume was the only trace of him since that encounter!"

Dib's face lit up. "Alien capturers...

Zim, I think you figured out where GIR must be- taken by the ambushers that attacked you!"

Zim's face flooded with realization. "If that's true, then how come I haven't heard of them since then? Whenever Irkens take a prisoner, they try to ransom the rest of the species into surrendering! You'd think that they would-"

By some incredible coincidence, Zim's computer suddenly boomed: "INCOMING TRANSMISSION!" The computer screen flickered to life with loud static, and then an image appeared on the screen: two intimidating aliens that held large blasters. Behind them, hundreds of cages containing other life forms, all broken and bruised.

"Greetings, Irken soldier." One alien said, a tall, brown, squid-like creature said.

"I believe we have something that belongs to you," said the other, a gray, sharp-toothed wolf with horns.

Zim instantly tensed, but said steadily, "Hello, fellow alien lifeforms. Yes, I believe that you have taken my robot by mistake."

"Oh, it's no mistake," the wolf said in a low tone, slowly shaking his head. Zim's antennae flicked.

"You were caught breaking the law," the squid explained, fiddling with his blaster. "That is a criminal offense. You just happened to escape being captured. Your friend, however-" he turned to right, focusing on something Zim couldn't see. "He was easy to catch. You didn't even notice that your accomplice was missing. It's the first time I've ever seen a criminal abandon their partner without so much of a glance."

Dib saw Zim flinch. He had obviously picked up on the officer's jab. Still, Zim didn't break his stance.

"I _did_ , in fact, notice. I was just preparing to retrieve him this whole time. What, you assumed that I would let my friend remain a prisoner?" He laughed slightly, but Dib saw right through his bluff. Zim clearly hadn't noticed GIR's absence for some time, or he would have made an effort to capture Dib earlier. _Is that..._ _guilt_ _in his eyes?_

"Well, getting him out won't be that easy. You're a wanted Irken. There are officers searching for you as we speak." The squid droned.

"Not to mention that your friend is locked up with the other criminals in our highly guarded, off-grid facility." The wolf put in. "I wouldn't worry about him for long, though... I doubt he'll hold up waiting for you to join him."

Zim had been listening nervously to the officers during most of their transmission, but the wolf's last comment seemed to snap something inside of him. "What do you mean... _hold up?_ "

Zim's previous tone had contorted into a threatening voice that made Dib's stomach suddenly drop. He was obviously put off by the officer's confusing word choice, as was Dib.

The wolf's eyes gleamed with sadistic glee. "You really aren't up to speed about us, huh?" He taunted. He seemed to light up as he said, "Criminals, like you Irkens, aren't treated nicely by our officers. We believe that what goes around comes around. The same goes for your robot; he's been through quite a lot of _discomfort_ waiting for you to take notice of his disappearance."

Dib couldn't see most of Zim's face, but he could hear the venom in his voice when he snarled, "Discomfort? Enough beating around the bush, WHAT'S BEEN DONE TO HIM?"

The officers said nothing; only let the camera zoom in on some of the prisoners behind them. They all were lying on the floor of their cages, covered in burn marks. A buzzer sounded from inside the room, and in unison, a taser appeared from inside the walls of the cages and zapped the living daylights out of them. A loud, painful wail filled the air and crackled through Zim's speakers, distorted from the sheer volume. Once the weapons had vanished, the fugitives all groaned rawly and panted, some not moving at all. Dib's eyes never left the screen, and he felt his skin crawl. _They capture aliens and electrocute them... until they die._

Even Gaz seemed disturbed, and she had done much worse to people in the past for standing in her way. But that level of evil was rare from her. This was routine, they were being subjected to this on a timed schedule...

They were so invested in their own disbelief that they had neglected to look at Zim, who was _trembling_. When Dib finally glanced down toward him, he had to suppress a gasp of surprise.

"Listen... here..." Zim's spat slowly, his voice dripping with malice. Dib's blood turned to ice.

"My robot _will_ be returned to me... without so much as a SCRATCH. I swear to you, you... _FILTH_... my race's armada will bring your little 'facility' to its  knees when they hear of this injustice to one of their fellow invaders! So I suggest you turn GIR over to me this instant, or else..." Zim snapped his fingers, and a large cannon rose from the floor of the lair, aimed right at the screen. It rumbled and sparked to life, Zim staring into the souls of the creatures before him.

Their faces remained unchanged. "Perhaps you'd like to see the little fellow? Maybe that'll get this whole idea through that thick skull of yours," the squid teased. The screen instantly roared with static, before a new feed came through the screen...

"GIR!" Dib jumped at Zim's sudden cry, and whipped around to face him. Zim's previous soldier stance was replaced by a shaking creature whose eyes were locked with the tiny robot sitting on the screen.

GIR didn't react initially, but after a few seconds had passed, he slowly turned to look towards the camera. Dib could hear whirring and sputtering coming from the speakers, and Zim's reaction suddenly made perfect sense; GIR's mechanisms were no doubt suffering and being shorted from the intense electrical shocks he had been enduring presumably for three days. GIR was at much higher risk of death than most of the other prisoners, and he was already damaged!

"Listen, GIR," Zim fought to keep his voice steady. "Don't worry, okay? I promise that I'll fly out there and beat them all up, and bring you straight back home." GIR didn't say anything. Zim's voice grew more desperate. "And then we can plot to destroy earth again, and watch that dumb monkey show you love so much, and eat all the tacos and cupcakes you want!" GIR sparked dangerously, which pushed Zim's speech out into a painful tumble: "I PROMISE THAT I'LL GET YOU OUT OF THERE I'LL STEAL THE WHOLE OF THE IRKEN ARMY IF I HAVE TO JUST **PLEASE HANG ON!** "

The buzzer sounded again. A giant taser appeared in front of GIR. Zim's breath hitched before it struck GIR like a cobra, letting a shrill cry of agony escape GIR and joining the other fugitives' like a symphony of torment. Gaz swore as GIR's whole body convulsed with each shriek. Dib let out a single squeak of horrified awe. Zim clamped his hands over the sides of his head to try and block out the sound.

At last the session ended, leaving a quivering, spazzing GIR lying on the floor of his crate. The sound of his processors loudly groaning and hissing filled the dead silence of the lair.

"Can you hear me, GIR?" Zim asked hoarsely, emotion rippling through his words. "P-please, hang tight... I'm coming to get you!"

GIR suddenly turned to the camera, his unfocused cyan eyes staring blankly through each person in the room. At last, he uttered a single word:

"Z I M...?"

Before the screen crashed, and GIR disappeared from view.

The silence was suffocating. All three of them were completely dumbfounded and horrified by what they just saw. Zim never looked away from the screen.

Despite what he had just witnessed, Dib couldn't stop thinking about the way Zim spoke to those officers, the raw hatred in his voice clawing at them. It hardly sounded like the over-the-top alien Dib had familiarized himself with. It was easy to forget that Zim was a trained Irken warrior. Dib had half-expected Zim to leap through the screen and kill both of them in that moment and it was painfully clear that he wanted to.

Gaz was the first to break the silence. "I guess my game can wait," she muttered.

Dib was in silent agreement until her heard another noise. It sounded like a low whimper, and Dib flinched at the memory of GIR being fried right in front of him. However, the noise seemed to be coming from somewhere in the actual room. His eyes finally settled on Zim.

He had partially turned away from the screen, looking down towards the floor. His hands were curling and uncurling into fists, and in his eyes were, unmistakably, tears.

They were silent, aside from the occasional whimper. Zim drew no attention towards this, and Dib decided not to probe him about it. Zim was clearly trying very hard to re-absorb them; the way he grit his teeth and took deep breaths was enough proof for that. It didn't last very long, for a few seconds later Zim bolted upright again.

"G-COMPUTER!" He stammered, his voice sounding far away. The computer beeped, to show it was listening.

"Show me the address of the last transmission sent! And release the children!"

The computer did as he was told.

"Don't you go anywhere!" Zim spun around to face the kids, teeth bared. "As much as I hate to say it, I need your help. I need distractions and potential backup for me to rescue GIR. You don't have a choice, as you're still technically my prisoners."

Dib and Gaz didn't say anything, and Dib was shocked to feel himself nodding. Gaz did the same. Somehow, they were in agreement to this half-worked out plan of Zim's. Perhaps it was GIR's pleading gaze, or perhaps it was the fact that they didn't have much of a say in the matter anyway.

"Stupid creatures hid their address!" Zim snarled, banging his fist on the control panel. Then he paused.

"But not their computer's I.P address... COMPUTER!"

The computer was already on it, and came up with directions to a random location in deep space. Zim motioned for the children to follow him, and they all boarded his tiny ship. Zim plugged in the coordinates.

Dib finally spoke, "Wait, don't we need weapons and stuff? To fight them?"

Zim didn't look at him. "The cruiser already has artillery built in. All we need is our rage to drive us, like they trained us."

Dib instantly decided that "they" meant Zim's past commanders from his time in training, and was slightly surprised that Zim seemed to refer to him and Gaz as if they trained alongside him.

Before Dib could doubt this plan any longer, the cruiser took off, and none of the three passengers were entirely ready for the impending battle for GIR's rescue.


	3. Prisonbreak

The ride to the alien base was quiet, uncomfortable. Everyone's minds were racing, but they didn't want to waste time sharing their thoughts.

Gaz was thinking about how she wished she convinced Dib to just stay in his room instead of going over to Zim's. Though she now had a more important task at hand than just playing video games, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to be at home right now. She hardly knew GIR, but remembered how crazy and bouncy he was. She wasn't sure how comfortable she was flying out into the depths of space saving someone she wasn't all that close to. Not to mention that their pilot was completely out of his mind. She knew Zim much better, but wasn't sure what to make of his behavior switches all throughout the day. It was easy to hate him for being evil, or at least attempting to be. But Zim was clearly shaken to the core about this whole ordeal, and Gaz felt compelled to try and help him, even if that just meant saving GIR. She didn't want to care. She didn't feel like... _herself_... at that moment. That's what scared her most.

Dib's feelings were similar. He knew that he should be taking pictures, taunting Zim, calling up Mysterious Mysteries and exposing everything. That's what he wanted to do. That's what he had been after this whole time! So why wasn't he doing it? Dib wasn't sure. Perhaps it was because he didn't have his camera with him, but Dib never left home without it. Maybe it was because he was worried Zim might kill him from close range of if he tried. Zim was clear that he and Gaz were still Zim's prisoners, and he was piloting the ship. He could easily throw Dib into space if he so desired.

No, that wasn't it either. There had to be something that was keeping him from acting out; something that was making him want to help Zim save GIR. Like Gaz, Dib and GIR weren't all that close. He'd usually take advantage of his niceness to spy on Zim...

The twinge of guilt that surged through him took his breath away. That was it. His conscience had been eating away at him this whole day for mistreating GIR, without Dib even realizing it. For Dib, GIR was second-best on his capture list. Sure, an alien robot would be cool, but could easily just be seen as a regular robot, albeit more impressive. Zim was the real prize. Dib had been using GIR as a tool, never bothering to know him. Paranormal investigators weren't supposed to get attached to their subjects, but Dib knew he wasn't a normal investigator. He was a child, and being a child meant that the instinctual drive to connect with people would always be there. He had failed to listen to it this whole time, and for some reason, that bothered him. He looked over to Zim, who was staring out at the stars rigidly.

Zim's mind wasn't nearly as clear as Dib and Gaz's were. His mind was a haze, echoing with GIR's voice and constantly replaying past missions they had shared. He was being ripped apart in what felt like a thousand different places. Everything was wrong.

Firstly, he was an Irken soldier, a defective one at that. Ever since his Trial, (and near deactivation), Zim was feeling less and less enthusiastic about everything. He had been shrugging off stares and taunts his whole life, but this one feeling was more difficult to shake. Smeets were taught very early on about defectives, but not through their initial activation. Some lessons were learned through maturity, not unlike certain lessons on earth. He remembered being disgusted by the thought of someone being made wrong, since Irk was supposed to be a flawless military base. He never could have imagined that he'd be considered one of them, even if it was accidental.

He didn't know what made an Irken defective, and still didn't. He had been over-analyzing and revisiting himself since the Trial, trying to discover what it was that made him wrong. He never came to a single conclusion... except for one.

GIR.

Irken soldiers were ruthlessly trained. Trained in combat and skill, never in emotion handling. It was frowned about to display too much feeling into something that wasn't your life partner, or something related to violence. And Zim was good at that. Chasing a potential mate was never once on his mind, and the practice itself was slowly falling out of style. Violence was the only thing that made him feel excited; but that still wasn't emotional. GIR was the only thing in the world that could bring out that side of him, a side he didn't even know he had. Their initial meeting wasn't anything of the sort, just Zim acknowledging GIR's apparent stupidity and carrying on with the mission. But it wasn't long before he started catching himself acting... un-Irken like. He thought about GIR a lot, usually worrying about what damage he could cause, but also occasionally about GIR's own safety. He watched GIR constantly throw himself into all sorts of danger with a strange pulse of anxiety. He could imagine GIR exploding or shorting out very clearly in his mind, like it was a repressed fear. Fear wasn't the only new feeling either: he also felt more exasperated with GIR's antics than anger recently. Though GIR causing a colossal failure was common, he was surprised to feel the routine sense of rage ebb away into annoyance most of the time. Staying mad at GIR over something he clearly didn't care about was useless; GIR had the memory of a goldfish.

Zim also thought about GIR more even when he wasn't scheming. If he needed to go to a shop for supplies, he found himself buying GIR a snack if he could easy find one. He knew all his favorite foods by heart, though it was a long list. He came home to GIR sitting around watching TV, but eager to help once Zim explained the day's agenda. Zim had learned to drown out the constant noise GIR emitted in the lab, and would also talk to GIR about his day or a new plan at several different times a day. They'd watch TV, make waffles, and occasionally slip into the observatory and stare into space, thinking about home or picking a new star to visit in the cruiser.

In the Irken army, you're taught not to form relationships with other solders, for fear of the immense pain when they died in battle. Zim did that in normal training, but on earth he started loosening up on that rule, not seeing any real danger that could harm GIR other than his own stupidly.

Zim wished he hadn't.

Finally, he pulled himself from his mind and glanced down at the star map. They were close. He didn't turn to look at the kids. He didn't want their sympathy; he could feel it coming off them in waves. A warrior needed no one's assistance to get the job done, and he was a warrior.

He thought he was, anyway.

At last, the prison appeared in the horizon, and with it, a slash of dread. They didn't want to go in there. They had no disguises planned, no entry plan, no plan at all. Everyone was counting on Zim, but not even Zim himself was sure of this crazy idea. But what other choice was there?

"Okay. Gaz-human, I want you to drive the cruiser around the perimeter and draw attention to yourself. You seem like you'd be good at learning the controls," Zim instructed.

Gaz felt a surge of pride. Piloting an alien ship! She was starting to feel like Dib; excited for no reason.

"Dib-worm, you and I will enter from the far side of the building. You have to be fast, not stealthy. We aren't here for a battle, we're here for GIR. And if you even think about that camera, I'll personally destroy you!"

Dib flinched, but nodded. He could be fast, but was concerned about their exposure, wandering around with no armor or weapons. Voicing this was useless, he knew.

"All right. We'll run outside once we acquire GIR. When you see us, initiate the tractor beam and pull us up. This shouldn't take more than ten minutes! Now, let's-"

His speech was interrupted by a blast coming from behind him. With a loud yell of surprise the cruiser tumbled away from the prison, steaming from one side.

Zim hadn't turned the invisibility on! A rookie soldier mistake! What was wrong with him?

"ARGHH, FORGET IT!" He cried, barreling the cruiser down towards the building.

"ZIM! WHAT ABOUT THE PLAN?" Dib shouted desperately. They were going to crash!

"FORGET THE PLAN," Zim shouted back. "WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED! JUST FOLLOW MY LEAD AND DON'T BLOW UP!"

There was a deafening crash as the cruiser nailed the prison wall, shocked cries bouncing off the walls. The rescue team was collapsed on the floor of the aircraft, tumbled together in a heap. There was hardly any time to recover from almost dying, for Zim grabbed Dib and Gaz in each arm and half-ran, half-dragged them across the hall, ignoring the warning sirens blasting in his earholes.

Eventually Dib and Gaz found their footing and ran on their own, but not until they heard gunshots firing from behind them. They all turned around with a yelp as they saw a while entourage of officers giving chase, shooting and yelling at them to stop.

"ZIM! Do you even know where GIR is being kept?" Dib shrieked as he narrowly dodged another fire from behind.

"It has to be somewhere this way!" Zim replied, activating a shield with his PAK. "The officers from the transmission were looking off to the right, and the cameras are only on that wall!" He pointed to the one on the right hand side, which was lined with security cameras every few feet. "So we'll find GIR if we JUST KEEP RUNNING!"

Gaz took a sharp turn and ducked behind a stray cage that had fallen from the crash, before leaping onto an officer. She wrestled him for his gun, while a few others closed in.

"GAZ!" Dib's horrified cry was followed up by Zim, who activated his PAK's spider legs and starting throwing some officers away from Gaz. He miraculously hadn't been directly hit yet, but was still catching a few flares from close shots. Gaz finally got the blaster and went off, shooting officers and the surrounding environment like she was born and raised in the army.

Dib kept running. Not out of fear, but out of newfound energy. He had seen some pretty amazing things, but never anything like this. He was having heart palpitations. Adrenaline was like a drug that he now desperately required, and he couldn't help but run.

 _Gotta find GIR,_ he kept thinking. _Find GIR and you can go home. Find GIR and Zim will feel better. Find GIR and you might not die!_

Zim had already left Gaz's side, seeing as she didn't need his help. He retracted his spider legs and ran towards Dib, who was way up ahead. He was like a nerdy comet, and screaming all the while. Zim would have laughed if he wasn't so afraid.

Eventually, officers started pouring in Dib direction, who each carried a large blaster. Zim picked up speed, calling over his shoulder for Gaz.

Instantly she appeared, hitting each incoming enemy dead on. Not killing them, but paralyzing them for several minutes, which was more than enough time to get GIR and get out of there.

Gaz eventually got a bit too fired up, eventually shooting all the cage locks as well. "BE FREE, FREAKS!" She cried, as the weakened criminals fled the scene as fast as their scarred legs could take them.

Dib was still in the lead, glancing at every cage at lightning speed. Not GIR, not GIR, not...

There he was.

A little ways ahead, sitting right against the bars, was their target. Dib didn't like what he saw: a sparking, still heap leaning against the wall. He didn't look good.

He cried out his name, and heard a yell from behind him. _Had Zim seen him too?_ He glanced over his shoulder to see Zim on the ground, with the wolf from before on top of him.

"You shouldn't have come here, Irken scum!" He spat, shuddering with crazed energy and baring his fangs. Zim only screamed angrily in response, slicing at him with a clawed hand.

Dib just kept running, seeing as he wouldn't be much help. He knew nothing about alien combat. He just needed GIR!

But standing in his way was none other than the squid monster from earlier; blaster reading aimed at Dib's head. Dib instantly braked.

"Don't move," he hissed at the boy, finger on the trigger. "Take one more step and I'll blow your head off!"

"G-GAZ! GAZ, HELP!" Dib wailed, completely helpless. He locked his eyes on GIR, who had managed to turn around. He looked confused.

Gaz broke away from the other officers and took a few shots at the squid, but he dodged them all.

Dib wasn't as lucky.

With a loud scream he fell to the ground, unable to break his own fall. Gaz swore loud, but didn't lose her focus this time.

"I can't-I CAN'T MOVE!" Dib slurred, his body completely rigid. He struggled to breathe.

Gaz took a few more shots, but Dib's cry distracted her, causing them officer to advance with a shot of his own. Gaz ducked, hearing a loud whoosh as the blast narrowly missed her head.

Zim was still fighting the wolf, starting to lose energy. _They were losing. They were going to die, they were-_

"MaSteR?" A distorted voice echoed around Zim.

Zim broke away from the wolf, frantically looking around himself. "GIR! GIR, WHERE ARE YOU?!" He cried, dodging the wolf's attacks.

Gaz quickly whipped around and shot the creature, which howled and dropped to the ground. The squid tried running towards Zim again, but Gaz kept over him and shot GIR's cage lock, which bounced around and hit the roof.

The squid ran towards the wall, watching furiously as the criminals were fled the prison and hijacked the officers' ships. He turned around to see Gaz, blaster locked onto him.

It took a long time for GIR to slip out of his cage. His mind was running a mile a minute like always, but now it hurt to think. It hurt to do anything now.

Zim swung around as soon as he heard the robot's voice: a quiet "PeEKAboo..." and saw him standing there.

Zim shrieked rather uncharacteristically and tackled him into a giant hug, but instantly regretted it when he felt GIR in his arms. He was steaming, every circuit shot. His metal shell was hot to the touch.

He was overheating.

Zim didn't let go, however. He never wanted to let go again. He tried saying something to GIR, maybe apologize. But all that was coming out was tearful squawks and whimpering. GIR hugged back, but the impact from Zim only furthered his damages. He wasn't sure what he was doing there or what was going on, he never really did. But he could feel himself shutting down, and GIR fought for consciousness.

"DiD-Ya... MEEt thE SUn?" GIR droned, his voice box faltering. "He tRIed tO KilL me ONCe,"

Gaz eyed the squid up and down, daring him to try anything. Dib had lost the ability to speak, but watched him slowly reach behind his back for his blaster. He tried screaming for Gaz, who couldn't see, but he couldn't form the words.

GIR, distracted as ever, looked over to where the squid was, and registered abnormal behavior inside his processors, which were just about melted. His vision went red.

It all happened so fast. Zim felt GIR wiggle out of his grasp and snapped his eyes open, just in time for the squid to yank out his blaster and fire towards him. GIR, in duty-mode, stepped in front to defend his master. Gaz instantly shot, but was too late.

Zim was fine.

GIR was not.


	4. Repairs

The whole world slowed to a crawl.

It lasted only seconds, but it felt like hours.

Zim could do nothing but watch as GIR jumped in front of the officer's blast. His tiny body absorbed the impact and was instantly flung against the wall. He bounced off, and there he was: collapsed on the floor of the prison. Not moving.

Gaz had shot at the officer once she saw the first flicker of movement, but still wasn't fast enough. Dib slowly began moving again, as did the officers who were stunned during the trio's entrance.

The squid fell to the floor, stunned but satisfied. Gaz, with a furious cry, shot him over and over with the blaster, but he never lost the gleam of pride in his eyes.

Gaz felt sick. If only she had reacted quicker! Then GIR wouldn't be...

GIR.

She tried to resist turning around. She didn't think she would be able to stand it. She had lost. Whatever state GIR was in now would be because of her failure.

But she couldn't help herself.

Tentatively, she turned and looked over her shoulder to where GIR was.

Zim was staring where GIR once stood, directly in front of him. His eyes were unreadable. His slacked jaw slightly quivered. When he saw Gaz turn around to look at GIR, he did the same.

GIR was lying face-down, dented metal glistening from the lights overhead. Steam was pouring out of his top plate, which was dangling by a thread off of his head. His legs were twisted together, and one was almost completely ripped off.

Zim just looked over his mangled body, completely rigid. His legs were quaking. His hands balled into fists. Slowly, very slowly, he sank to the ground. His whole body was trembling now. He reached out a shaky hand and rolled GIR over.

GIR's cold, blank eyes stared back at him.

No warm cyan, no expression whatsoever.

Everything was completely dark.

Dead.

Silent.

Broken.

 _Dead._

Gaz expected Zim to yell. She wanted him to yell. She was used to him yelling by now.

This was her fault. She hadn't shot in time. So why wasn't he blaming her? Why wasn't he saying anything? It was almost more painful. He wasn't even crying. Gaz didn't think he could.

Dib was fully mobile now, which unfortunately meant so were several officers down at the far end of the hall. He winced when he saw GIR. It wasn't natural, to see such abnormally happy creature completely still and lifeless. It felt wrong.

Dib was the one to break the silence. "What if... he's just paralyzed? Stun guns, right?" Dib asked worriedly. Gaz swung around to face him, instantly angry.

"LOOK at his gun, Dib! It's NOT THE SAME ONE." She glanced away, but her voice was still enraged as she finished, "Video games taught me that things that look different ARE different. So I think his gun was real."

Zim still didn't a word. Too many of them were spinning inside of his mind. There was no way he could form a proper sentence. So many awful, painful things that threatened to flood out of his mouth, but he was unable to speak them. But one word rose above the others:

 _Destroyed._

Just like the last bit of his will.

Dib now looked down the corridor, the rumbling of the hostile aliens charming towards them. "Uh, hate to interrupt this," he said harshly. "But we kind of need to leave. Now."

"And what ship are we taking, genius? I hope you don't mean the destroyed one we used to CRASH INTO THIS PLACE." Gaz hissed.

Dib wouldn't let up. "Alright, fine, but we still have to get out of here! If we don't find a ship soon, there's no way we'll make it out alive!"

Gaz only huffed in response, and then turned back to Zim. He was still on the ground.

Then, he leaned forwards. Cupping his hands, he gently lifted GIR's head and body off of the ground, holding him like a princess. He pulled GIR closer towards him until the sputtering machine was pressed into his uniform, tight enough to make Zim's entire body shiver which each of GIR's internal rumbles.

Then, Zim stood. His eyes were hard, narrowed with rage. His mouth was curled into a snarl. Without so much as a warning, Zim took off, leaving a stunned Gaz and Dib behind. Zim was running right into the mob of aliens.

With no choice, the siblings followed him, clearly very fearful for their lives. They nearly crashed right into the mass when Zim made a sharp right turn into a hallway.

Keeping up with Zim was a challenge at first, but once they were in the hallway he started getting slower and slower. The pink dots on his PAK glowed red as a mechanical voice said, "Energy levels critical. Backup transportation engaged."

Zim's spider legs appeared then, allowing Zim to continue running without fainting before they got on the ship. All the emotions that were pounding inside him were starting to take their toll.

They found a vacant officer ship, which they instantly climbed inside of. Zim's spider legs retracted and he began inputting coordinates into the vessel. The machine rumbled to life and left the dock, but not before Zim activated a tractor beam and carried his old ship along behind them. Dib looked out the window and saw the angry officers climbing out of the destroyed building just before Zim activated the ship's turbocharge and sent the whole crew zooming through space, on a course for earth.

The ride home was just as silent as the ride there, but a different kind. Now there was tension, fear in the air. All concerned for GIR, and for Zim as well. He hadn't said a thing in what felt like so long. Dib was staring out into the wide vacancy of space when he heard a noise; a tiny sound that carried through the oxygen-tight aircraft. He glanced around, unsure of where it was coming from, before looking over to Zim.

Zim had GIR's still body on his lap; one hand resting on his chest, the other tightly gripping the steering wheel. There was no need for him to have a hand on the wheel, however, since Dib instantly saw that they were on auto pilot. Zim was looking down at GIR, and that's when Zim realized that he was humming.

It wasn't a tune he recognized, and the low mumbling didn't sound like any of the languages he knew. Was it Irken? Did Irkens have their own language? Did it matter anymore?

The last question made Dib pause. He was in space, in an alien ship that an alien stole from OTHER aliens! Hostile aliens that captured criminals. Criminals that were, also, ALIENS! Dib should be freaking out right now! HE WAS IN SPACE! He had just witnessed the coolest (and most terrifying) thing in the world! So why didn't he feel... _anything?_

He didn't know.

When they finally made it back to earth, the ship immediately flew to Zim's house. The ship that had originally belonged to Zim was lowered into a room deep below the actual home, while the one they were currently flying in parked inside of the roof. Quietly, Zim led Dib and Gaz to the door. They had expected no thanks, and were offered none. Just a blank, cold stare before the door was shut in their faces. They began the trek back home, deflated. They hardly considered this a win.

Zim didn't rest, not even for a moment. He had to get GIR working again. For days Zim stayed inside of his lab, repairing and modifying GIR. Minimoose took over GIR's normal duties, which admittedly wasn't much. Just gathering supplies for Zim and providing emotional support, something Zim was in dire need of. The computer had lessened its normal sass and just did as it was told. A difficult task, of course. But it wasn't done without effort.

Zim had contacted the Tallest only once, to alert them of the new alien threat they might now face. The Tallest pretended to be fearful and then instantly hung up. Didn't matter to Zim: he needed to work on GIR anyway.

One of the computer's many jobs was to keep evidence of the mission's progress. Zim usually only used this purpose to monitor the premises, but little did he know, the computer had been taking photographs of all the major achievements Zim displayed so far on earth. They were... minimal, besides lab tests and engineering. But now the computer was taking pictures of other things, like Zim fixing GIR. Technically it counted as an engineering experiment, but the computer was really only saving them to show GIR once he was rebooted. Despite how annoying GIR could be, perhaps showing the evidence of Zim hard at work entirely for GIR's well-being could help calm down one of his fits? That is, if he ever was back to normal again...

Zim worked, and the computer watched. Fighting his own exhaustion. Skipping school. Ignoring the mission. The mission hadn't crossed his mind in days. Zim slept in the lab, one hand always resting on top of GIR's chest, the other on top of Minimoose's head. Zim hadn't needed to sleep in a long, long time, but his body was still recovering from the emotional weight pushed upon him in one stressful sitting. Besides, Zim had a clingy-ness spike, now that he was reunited with his tiny assistant.

After nearly five days of this, GIR showed promise. His outer shell had been completely de-maimed. The internal repairs were showing progress. Most of GIR's data ships were already back inside of him. The smaller ones Zim had underneath a microscope, facing away from GIR. While Zim's back was turned and he was lost in thought, GIR had begun... stirring!

Minimoose squeaked happily, and the computer barely suppressed a gasp. At this, Zim turned and looked at them. "Eh? What's the noise for," he slurred wearily.

"Nothing, sir," the computer reported. "Just running a data-stream scan on GIR." The metallic voice was bouncing as GIR moved more and more. It silently triggered an electrical spark, which flowed through GIR and helped re-energize him. Zim had already turned around again. GIR managed to sit up on the lab table, and Minimoose had to fight against squeaking again, for the surprise factor.

"And how's he doing?" Zim inquired, his antennae flicking with each questionable noise coming from behind him. With a strangely warm, and -dare he think it- _human_ voice, the computer simply said, "See for yourself."

Zim twisted himself around, expecting to see anything but bright blue eyes glowing back at him. With a sudden burst of excitement he exploded from the desk and squealed, pulling the wide-awake GIR into a massive hug. GIR stood on top of the table to reach him better.

Zim couldn't even begin to describe the feeling of GIR wrapping his arms around him in that very moment. He felt like there was a big balloon being blown up in his belly that made him feel like he could float away with glee. Minimoose tried to nuzzle his way into the embrace, his soft fur brushing against both of them. Zim couldn't keep himself from laughing any longer. He enjoyed the feeling of it bubbling out of him; his evil laughing fits were never this wonderful. That's when he noticed GIR wasn't laughing along with him.

Of course Zim had expected minor glitches, but this... didn't feel minor. Tilting his head up to look at GIR, he could see that he definitely was giggling, there was just no sound coming out. He hadn't said a single word thus far, which was record-setting and unnatural. Slowly, the joyful balloon began to deflate.

"GIR... I..." Zim tried to initiate conversation. He had intended it as a test for GIR's voice issue, but now that he was able to speak to GIR properly... he was starting to lose it, a bit.

"GIR, I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I promise that I would have searched this whole side of the galaxy for you, just... don't tell Dib." He laughed shakily, and then continued. "Don't worry about those mean officers anymore, okay? I've alerted the Tallest, and I'm sure that they're on their way to vanquish them right now. And even if they're not, I'll never let them get you again. P-please, if you're going to take away anything from this speech... let it be that."

GIR's mouth opened in a smile that went on for far too long, with no sound emitting from him at all. His jaw was flapping a mile a minute, as per usual, but Zim couldn't hear anything. He sighed heavily; he had found his first issue.

"Computer, scan GIR's voice chip for damages." Zim ordered, sounding much more like his old self. The computer complied, but didn't say anything. Zim heard the scanning noise again, but the computer still didn't speak. "Computer, report!" Zim barked.

"Uh... there's no damage, sir." The computer said quizzically. "The voice chip is... not showing any signs of distress."

Zim squinted his eyes at the screen. It was true, no damage reports were shown. "Are you sure, computer?" Zim asked again. That couldn't be right. GIR wasn't talking, so it had to be a voice box issue. That made sense.

"I'm positive," the computer repeated, equally as confused. "There's nothing to indicate any malfunctions."

That was weird, but Zim could handle weird. "Alright then... I'll just finish GIR's other chips, then. Perhaps it's their absence that's causing the glitch?" Zim wondered aloud, then turned back to the microscope. He found himself glancing around the room, unfocused. His desire was obvious; he wanted to go back to GIR. Be near him, make sure he was going to be okay, convince himself of that. At last, Zim gave in.

He turned to face GIR and Minimoose, smiling weakly. "I guess I am due for a quick break... do you guys wanna-"

He didn't even have to finish, for GIR and Minimoose already flung themselves in Zim's direction. GIR clung to Zim's leg while Minimoose provided a platform to carry Zim with: his body. Minimoose glided sloppily towards the elevator, and GIR took enjoyment in trying to steer him using his antlers. Zim smiled fully now, trying his best to ignore GIR's silence, that now relentlessly called out to him.

The three had a lazy evening, mostly filled with eating and lounging. That's where they were now, all lying on the couch, watching an infomercial. GIR was lying on Zim's chest, deep in sleep-mode. Minimoose was curled into the crook of Zim's knee, fidgeting, attempting to get comfortable. Zim was initially worried that Minimoose would tickle him into disturbing GIR, but Zim was able to keep his chest from bouncing too much. He had one hand holding his head up, with the other dangling off the side of the couch, barely reaching the floor. Now, the silence was natural. Before, however, disregarding the quietness was proven to be nearly impossible. He had never noticed just how much GIR provoked conversation: without him talking, no one could think of anything to say.

Zim tried to let the TV distract him, his mind now focusing on the calmness of the scene. The darkened room contrasting the brightness of the screen that danced on the walls and provided low noise to fill the air. GIR's cold metallic shell kept Zim from feeling too warm, and Zim liked it; the chill was refreshing, much more so then GIR's overheated warmth from a few days earlier.

Eventually the harsh light began to irritate his eyes, and Zim let them drift to floor and trace the cracks in the tile.

He felt himself drifting off into sleep again. He had never slept so much in his entire life until this past week. It was unnecessary, but oddly... nice. Zim's own weariness, along with his heavily relaxing surroundings eventually lulled him into sleep, his henchman nearby. As they should be.


End file.
